Dispensing attachment for containers



Jan. 27,1925. 1,524,492

' v J.LTHOMAS DISPENSING ATTACHMENT FOR CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 17, 923

INVENTOR farep WT fiamaf M ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 2?, 1925.

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JOSEPH WE'NZEL THOMAS, 015 NEW YORK, N. Y.

DISPENSING ATTACHMENT FOR CONTAINERS.

Application filed November 17, 1923. Serial No. 675,243.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr W. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Im rovements in Dispensing Attachments or Containers, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of my invention is to provide simple, inexpensive and easily operated parts which may be attached to a container for grease or other similar plastic or semi-solid material to dispense or deliver the same from the container as needed. My improved construction is intended for use as a substitute for the ordinary grease gun, and one of the advantages thereof is the avoiding of the necessity for transferring the grease from the container to the grease gun, as is the present ractice. The body of 4 the container is emp oyed as the barrel of the grease gun and separate attachments at opposite ends of the container serve for the forcing out of the material and the conveying of it under pressure to the parts to be lubricated. y

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a grease container, portions thereof being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the container with my improved parts connected thereto. 7

Fig. 3 is an end view of the top attachment shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the bottom attachment shown in Fig. 2, and

. Fig. 5 is a section similar to a portion of Fig.2, but showing a modified construction.

My improved device may be made of the proper size and proportions to operate with any standard form of grease container as now sold on the market, or the parts may be designed particularly for some special form of container which may be put on themarket for use with my improved attachment.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a simple form', of grease container in which there is a peripheral wall 10, a bottom wall 11, and aremovable cap or cover 12. The peripheral wall is provided with beads 13 and 14 adjace'nt to the lower and upper ends thereof, and the bottom wall 11 has an annular weakened line encircling a part 15 which may be easily broken loose from the body of the cont iner,

This container serves for the ordinary shipment, storage and sale of the grease. For use therewith I provide a top attachment in the form of a cap 16 having a peripheral wall 17 of such size as to receive the upper end of the container when the cap 12 is removed.- The peripheral wall 17 has-a series of curved segments or clamping members 18 upon the inner surface thereof, and each connected to a set screw 19 mounted in a threaded aperture in the peripheral wall 17 By turning these set screws the clamping. members 18 may be drawn snugly against the inner surface of the flange 17, and the end of the container may then be inserted. The clamping members are pref erably so positioned that they come below the bead 14. By tightening the set screws the clamping members 18 may be forced firmly against the wall of the container below the bead, and the entire top attachment thus rigidly secured to the container. If desired-the cap 16 may have a gasket 20 which will engage with the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the container.

Extending through the cap 16 and hav-' ing threaded engagement therewith is a rod 21 of a length approximately equal to the length of the container. On the outer end of this rod is a suitable handle 22 for rotating it, and for thereby feeding it endwise in the container. On the inner end of the rod is a piston or plunger 23 of anysuitable construction, the details of which. form no portion of my invention. It'is desirable that this shall be rotatable in respect to the rod so that it does not need to turn, when the rod is turned, and it should fit the container fairly snugly and have a gasket to prevent leakage of the grease past the plunger when the latter is orced down.

For attachment to the opposite end of the container there is provided a cap member 24 havin a peripheral flange 25 and means for e ectively clamping it to the container wall. The same form of clamping members 18 and set screws 19 may be employed, although the form illustrated includes a split ring 26 made up of a plurality of clamping sections or members connected together by hinges 27. The inner surface of the split ring may have a groove'to receive the head 13, and the outer surface of the ring may be threaded to screw into the flange 25. The split ring may be opened up 1 moved prior to use.

as shown in'Fig. 4 and placed around the container with the bead in the groove. The cap 24 may then be screwed on to prevent opening of the split ring and at the same time to force the container firmly and tight- 1y against the bottom of the cap, or against a suitable gasket or washer 28 therein. The cap 24 has a nipple 29 which may have a hose 30 connected thereto. The terminal of this hose is not shown, but it will be understood that it is of any suitable character depending upon the type of lubricating device in connection with which the grease gun is to be used. It may terminate in a simple nozzle, although preferably it has clamping means for engagement with a receiving nipple closed by the usual ball valve, so that the grease may be forced from the container under any desired degree of pressure and through the hose to the parts to be lubricated. It will of course be understood that before attaching the bottom cap the part 15 is removed or forced inwardly, for instance as indicated in Fig. 2. It is important that the means for attaching the lower cap be such that a tight seal is formed around the outlet from the container to prevent the escape of any grease except through the hose 30. It is also important that it be of such character that it Will not be forced off from the end of the container if the grease be put under very heavy pressure, as for instance in forcing it into a bearing where the passage has been obstructed by hardened grease or dirt.

' In Fig. 5 I have shown a slightly modified construction. The end wall of the container may be entirely removed, as for instance by removing a cap the same as at the upper end, or the end wall may have a threaded nipple 37 closed by a screw cap during shipment and storage.

A multiple-section ring 31 has a flange 32 subdivided into a plurality of sections and presenting an outer cam face for engaging a coacting face 33 of the flange 3-1 and the cap 35. The flange 32 being subdivided into sections will be forced inwardly as the threaded parts are screwed together,

and thus the container willbe firmly gripped in the cap The screwing together of the parts 31 and 34 will also tend to force the container wall 10 against the gasket 36 and prevent any leakage around the lower edge of the container wall when the grease is put under high pressure.

In case the end wall has the nipple 37, the cap 35 is also provided with a nipple part 38 internally threaded to receive the nipple 37 and externally "threaded or otherwise formed for the attachment of a delivery pipe or hose. There may be a gasket 39 around the nipple to prevent leakage. This nipple construction may be employed in the form shown in Fig. 2.

Such cap woud be re-' It will be noted that my improved device includes a pair of caps for detachable engagement with opposite ends of the contamer in which the grease is purchased, and provides means for putting the grease under as high pressure as desired to force it to the parts to be lubricated. When the container is empty the two end caps may be removed and attached to a new container.

It will be noted that as the two caps are independently attached to the container, the length of the container is not a controlling feature. The grease may be put up in half pint, pint, or quart containers all having the same diameter but varying in length, and the same caps may be used for all such sizes.

In the foregoing description I have referred to the device as a grease gun for use in delivering grease to parts to be lubricated. It will of course be understood that the particular material contained in the gun 1s not any part of the construction and that the same or similar apparatus may be employed for dispensing other forms of plastic or semi-solid material.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a pair of caps adapted to detachably receive the opposite ends of a container adapted for the shipment and storage of grease and adapted to be opened at opposite ends, separate clamping means for securing said caps in position, a piston rod, a piston secured thereto, and having threaded engagement with one cap, and a delivery hose secured to the other cap.

2. In combination, a pair of caps each having a peripheral flange adapted to receive and encircle the corresponding end of a container adapted for the shipment and storage of grease and adapted to be opened at opposite ends, a plurality of clamping members within each of said flanges and adapted to be forced into engagement with the container wall, a piston and piston operating means carried by one cap and a delivery hose carried by the other.

3. A device for use in dispensing material from containers, comprising a pair of caps adapted to be independently secured rigidly to opposite ends of a container, a delivery hose carried by one cap and a piston and piston operating member carried by the other cap.

4. A device adapted for use in dispensing material from containers, including a pair of caps adapted to be secured to opposite ends of a container, one of said caps havin a piston and piston operating means, and the other of said caps having a gasket for engagement with the end of the container, a plurality of clamping members for engagement with the peripheral wall of the container. to retain the same within the cap a gasket between said end wall and the contamer, a delivery hose carried by said cap,v and means adapted for attachment to the opposite end of the container for putting 15 the contents of the container under heav pressure and delivering the same throug said hose. 7

Si ed at New York, in the county of New ork and State of New York; this 16th 20 day of November, A. D. 1923.

JOSEPH WENZEL THOMAS. 

